The Charleston Post & Courier reports that Loy Stewart has stepped down as president of Detyens Shipyard. He has become chairman of the board of the company, which has about 700 employees at its two yards in North Charleston and Mount Pleasant.

His son, Loy Stewart Jr., has been named president, says the newspaper. A 13-year veteran of Detyens, he had been an executive vice president of the company since 2003.

The newspaper says the elder Stewart started preparing for an orderly leadership transition about four years ago, after he was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease.

"I'm still doing well, but it was time," the newspaper quotes Stewart, as saying."While I'm still reasonably healthy, I want to see the next generation do their thing. It was just a little succession planning."